User Review: Merrell Men's Moab Ventilator Mid

A very versatile boot! I left my GTX hikers at home when I trekked in Arctic Alaska with these boots and it proved a wise choice. I wanted excellent water drainage due to many stream crossings for which changing to waders was impractical. The vents go right down to the top of the insole, so there was no chance for puddles of water inside. (When water has breeched the top of my GTX boots, I was walking in water buckets.) After 10 minutes of hiking out of streams, my feet were wet but warm, and I found these boots dried overnight (I know that would not have been the case with leather and GTX).

I tested all this in Chicago winter weather, so I know the boots stay warm while wet down to the low 30s. My only concern is that traversing talus slopes, the sides of the boot uppers were not so stiff that my feet would slide well off-center of the soles, but in fairness I should note that I greased my feet with water-repellent cream. I actually preferred having these more flexible uppers compared to leather. The overall weight savings compared to my other boots was 1 pound, and that's sweet. It's a great choice of boot where you cannot fight off getting wet feet, so you must manage the situation instead.